» Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Ethiopian Kidnap
Asked if there was any further update on the kidnapping situation in Ethiopia, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that clearly the Prime Minister welcomed the release of the hostages and thanked both the Ethiopian and Eritrain Governments. The Prime Minister also recognised and thanked the efforts by the FCO, both in the UK and on the ground for securing the release.
Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Civil Service
Put that Sir Alistair Graham had written to Sir Gus O'Donnell regarding replacements, the PMOS replied that people should note, as indeed Sir Alistair Graham had done, that it was not custom nor practice to have anybody serve 2 terms in this post. Therefore, there was nothing out of the ordinary in terms of this position. With regarding the timings of replacements, that was a matter for Sir Gus O'Donnell and for the system to get on with.
Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Northern Ireland
Asked whether the Prime Minister would be meeting Ian Paisley this week, and what way might any meeting go, the PMOS replied that we had to see what the parties' assessment was after the dust had settled on the election result. What nobody had seriously questioned was that the message of the election was that the people of Northern Ireland wanted their politicians to get on with it, and deal with domestic issues such as water rates, health, education and domestic rates. The expectation of the people was that they would do so by 26th March. What we waited to see was the response of Dr. Paisley and others, but Dr. Paisley had said today that he was making "good progress" in terms of moving towards devolution, and that was encouraging.
Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Northern Ireland Economy
Put by the Guardian that he understood that the Ian Paisley was going to see the Chancellor, and that he also understood that there was a tradition that the PMOS did not discuss tax policy, but were there any further thoughts about corporation tax, the PMOS replied that he would keep to the convention, and instead, let the meeting take place and then respond to it. The PMOS said that he wanted to mark a considerable sign of progress in then process of lobby engagement that the journalist had acknowledged that convention!
Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Nurses’ Pay
Asked if the Prime Minister was planning to meet any MPs, the PMOS said that he was not aware of any plans to do so. The Prime Minister had set out the argument, the basic reason for the decision, and why it had to be taken this year.
Briefing took place at 15:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Northern Ireland
Asked if the Prime Minister had any views on the comments made by Peter Mandelson on Northern Ireland, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that as was made clear on the Today programme, the peace process was about balancing risks. It was about trying to bring both sides along. The ultimate test is whether you succeed in that process or not. He added that in Peter Mandelson's time as Secretary of State we both achieved devolution and stood devolution down again. Looking back what it was all about was bringing all sides along to where we are now. Where we are now is that we have had an election in which the very clear message on the doorstep was that the public want their politicians to get on with it and deal with domestic Northern Ireland matters.
Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Trident
Asked if the Prime Minister would be meeting Labour MPs today to urge them to vote for Trident, the PMOS said he was not aware of any plans at this stage. Asked if the Prime Minister would be taking part in the vote, the PMOS said he was sure the Prime Minister would, but he would check. He added that the basic argument on Trident remained essentially as that set out originally. You have to make a decision now because of the long lead times involved and because of the need to tell industry what your intentions are. If you don't do so then you are de facto making a decision not to replace Trident. That was the hard reality. That is why we need to make the decision this year.
Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Police Inquiry
No.
Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
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